Best of the Year So Far: Big Splashes in the CInematic Pool

Bridesmaids

2011 has already set itself apart from last year with a number of truly unqualified gems of the cinematic order. The medium continues to develop new voices that speak to us in fresh and original ways, and a number of masters have been able to find new takes to stretch the imagination as well. Here are ten favorites, presented in alphabetical order, so far (click on the title to read the full review):

The Arbor (United Kingdom): Clio Barnard’s strange experiment in documentary filmmaking follows the sad story of playwright Andrea Dunbar and the children who begot her sins. But more fascinating is Ms. Barnard’s unique style that only brings the voice in, allowing her to run wild with the visuals, truly accentuating the story in powerful ways.

Bridesmaids (United States): While suffering from some of the minor issues that all Judd Apatow films seem to carry, Bridesmaids is certainly the funniest movie of the year so far, with Kristin Wiig giving it all in a raunchy gross-out comedy with truly realized characters and a unique perspective on female friendship.

Certified Copy (France and Italy): Abbas Kiarostami’s first feature outside his native Iran asks a simple question: Why do we value the original, when the copy can be just as good? And thus Juliette Binoche and William Shimmel play a game across one afternoon that tests this premise, leading us in an insightful drama where the emotional stakes are equaled by the philosophical stakes.

Jane Eyre: Men Aren't The Only Thing Out to Get This Poor Girl

Jane Eyre

Directed By: Cary Fukunaga

Written By: Moira Buffini (Based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte)

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, and Sally Hawkins

Director of Photography: Adriano Goldman, Editor: Melanie Oliver, Production Designer: Will Hughes-Jones, Original Music: Dario Marionelli

Rated: PG-13, for brief violence, and some other strange happenings

            Recollections of the name Jane Eyre may conjur many things for different people. Perhaps some will think about their college or perhaps high school years reading the novel, with its quick wit and gorgeous prose by Charlotte Bronte. Others may picture the numerous film adaptations—either William Hurt as Mr. Rochester or perhaps Orson Welles, and actresses like Charlotte Gainsbourg or Joan Fontaine in the role of the titular character. Call it my naïveté or simply lack of serious intellectual pursuits, but I have never seen anything related to Ms. Bronte’s now famous novel. Jane Eyre has been a missing link on my education (oh what do they teach these days!), and thus I went into this latest version as an “Eyre-gin,” so to say.

            So colored me surprised to not find another girl caught up in marriage pursuits, as is a favorite story of Ms. Bronte’s 19^th century counterpart Jane Austin. Of course, that is the endgame in Jane Eyre, but through the eyes of Cary Fukunaga, Jane Eyre is darker than witty, more gruesome and haunting than charming and delightful. Sure it has its gorgeous moments, but its also creepy and effecting in its drab presentation and almost lifeless landscapes.